Coalmont, British Columbia
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Coalmont is an unincorporated community on the northeast side of the
Tulameen River The Tulameen River is a tributary of the Similkameen River in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The Tulameen River is part of the Columbia River drainage basin, being a tributary of the Similkameen River, which flows into the Okanagan Riv ...
, in the Similkameen region of south central
British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
, Canada. On Coalmont Rd, the former
mining community A mining community, also known as a mining town or a mining camp, is a community that houses miners. Mining communities are usually created around a mine or a quarry. Historical mining communities Australia * Ballarat, Victoria * Bendi ...
is by road about south of Merritt and northwest of
Princeton Princeton University is a private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the Unit ...
.


Coal mining

Although first mentioned in 1901, coal had been known at
Collins Gulch Collins Gulch is a creek in the Similkameen region of British Columbia. Collins Gulch is a stream which flows into the Tulameen River from the south side. The creek is about east of the village of Tulameen, British Columbia Tulameen is an uninc ...
for years, possibly as early as 1858. In either 1902 or 1906, coal was discovered several miles due south on the Granite Creek side of the mountain. Recognizing that these seams were part of the same formation, the name Tulameen Coal Basin was adopted within a decade. During 1908 and early 1909, the Erl syndicate carried out exploration, which revealed that when transportation facilities reached the area, the coal would be of great commercial value. In 1909, B.C. Coal and Coke obtained control of almost the entire basin. The next year, the company was reorganized as Columbia Coal and Coke. In 1913, the A. McEvoy syndicate acquired the entire coal company holdings for $1.75 million, which included the townsite. The horse-drawn sleighs in winter and wagons in summer, which hauled the coal from the mines to the railway line at Coalmont in 1914, were proving impractical. Virtually no coal was extracted during 1915–1917. Once the mine was readied for reopening, horse teams began hauling sleighs in January 1918. On restructuring, Coalmont Collieries became the new name. By summer, five-ton trucks were carrying the coal to the railway. Although the principal accommodation for workers was in the Coalmont area, some also existed by 1919 at the mine site. In 1920, the
aerial tramway An aerial tramway, aerial tram, sky tram, cable car or aerial cablecar, aerial cableway, ropeway, téléphérique (French), or Seilbahn (German) is a type of aerial lift which uses one or two stationary cables for support, with a third movin ...
at Boundary Falls was dismantled and transported to Coalmont, where a tramway was installed for connecting the mine site with the Coalmont
tipple A tipple is a structure used at a mine to load the extracted product (e.g., coal, ores) for transport, typically into railroad hopper cars. In the United States, tipples have been frequently associated with coal mines, but they have also been us ...
. The power plant also supplied electricity to Coalmont. Unfortunately, the tramway experienced ongoing cable problems. The next year, accommodation was greatly expanded at the mine site. By 1922, the latter place was called Blakeburn. In 1924, stronger more reliable cable was installed on the tramway, which was claimed to be the longest cable in North America, and the longest aerial tramway in the coal mining industry. In 1926, one of the towers supporting the cable partially collapsed. Months later, a forest fire destroyed two towers, resulting in a two-week shutdown of production, because no coal storage facilities existed at the mine site. The next year, a casting on the tramway broke. In 1928, a snapped cable shut down production for a week. The colliery was the largest and most important coal operation in the Princeton district. In 1930, 45 miners died in the number 4 mine explosion. After this, production resumed but on a smaller scale than previously. The railways purchased virtually all the coal extracted. About west of present Coalmont at Upper town, a
spur A spur is a metal tool designed to be worn in pairs on the heels of riding boots for the purpose of directing a horse or other animal to move forward or laterally while riding. It is usually used to refine the riding aids (commands) and to ba ...
entered the mine yard, where the power plant, tipple, and screens were located. During that decade, a miner's work week averaged two to three days in summer and three to four days in winter. When the colliery closed in 1940, the aerial tramway and other equipment were dismantled and sold. Since the closure of the underground mine, a series of smaller
strip mine Surface mining, including strip mining, open-pit mining and mountaintop removal mining, is a broad category of mining in which soil and rock overlying the mineral deposit (the overburden) are removed, in contrast to underground mining, in whic ...
s have developed in the area. The large concrete pillar, which formed the lower anchor point for the tramway, is the most significant remnant of Upper town.


Earlier community

In 1910, the coal company named the planned town as Cardiff. When applying to open a post office, the company became aware that Cardiff, Alberta existed, which prompted a rename to Coalmont, indicating the mountain of coal believed to exist. In 1911, the McTavish general store, post office, and Presbyterian church were among the many buildings springing up. A bridge across the Tulameen was completed at Upper town. Development occurred at both locations. That year, the school was established in a temporary building. Overly optimistic expectations regarding Coalmont's future prompted a series of businesses to propose or build premises. The Tulameen sawmill provided lumber for the company's buildings, bunkhouses, boarding houses, dwellings, and stores. The daily capacity mill was soon moved from Tulameen and installed about above the townsite. In 1912, the new schoolhouse opened (at Upper town), followed by the Coalmont Hotel months later. That year, the Coalmont Courier newspaper, managed by an unscrupulous editor, lasted only six months, and Granite Creek merchant F.P. Cook opened a Coalmont branch. By 1913, 182 lots had been sold in the townsite. That year, a suspension footbridge was installed across the Tulameen, presumably in Coalmont proper. In 1914, the Anglican parish hall opened as the All Saints church. Replaced by train service, the stage from Coalmont via Tulameen to Merritt ceased in 1916. In 1921, a Union Bank branch opened. In 1922, a new post office was erected. During 1922–23, a new
howe truss A Howe truss is a truss bridge consisting of chords, verticals, and diagonals whose vertical members are in tension and whose diagonal members are in compression. The Howe truss was invented by William Howe in 1840, and was widely used as a brid ...
bridge was installed over the river, and a government liquor store opened. A police constable was in residence 1922–1940. The police post must have been initially at Upper town, because the jail building was later moved from there. In 1924, a gym was built at the back of the Presbyterian church for use by school children. Following church union in 1925, the Presbyterian church became a
United church A united church, also called a uniting church, is a denomination formed from the merger or other form of church union of two or more different Protestantism, Protestant Christian denominations, a number of which come from separate and distinc ...
. That year, the bank was rebranded on the merger of the Union Bank into the Royal Bank. In 1927, Coalmont comprised a hotel, bank, jail, several stores, and Anglican and United churches. The school also used the church buildings. The next year, the Blakeburn–Coalmont road was rebuilt. In 1929, an electrical fire at the hotel caused limited damage. The population was about 250 in 1930. The liquor store was not open from early 1930 to mid-1932. The hotel contains 16 bedrooms on the second floor and 16 on the third floor. The latter in need of renovations have been closed off since 1931. Anglican services were held at least into the early 1930s, but the vacant building was for sale in 1944. The Royal bank closed at the 1934 year end. The
Canadian Bank of Commerce The Canadian Bank of Commerce was a Canadian bank that operated from 1867 to 1961. It merged in 1961 with the Imperial Bank of Canada to form the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, which today is one of Canada's Big Five banks of Canada, Big Five ...
at Princeton took over these accounts. In 1935, the liquor store moved into the former Royal Bank premises. After mining ceased in 1940, Blakeburn became almost deserted. Closures at Coalmont included the liquor store and the F.P. Cook store. The shutdown of the power plant ended the Coalmont electricity and water supply facilities. In 1947, the Mainland Forest Products mill was built. Logging and sawmill operations gave the community a new lease of life, but the mill was bankrupt by 1950. The school was extensively renovated in 1950. Coalmont United church was in use at least into the early 1950s. The post office relocated into the general store in 1952. When electricity transmission lines came in 1965, dial phones succeeded the earlier switchboard. That year, a reunion for former Blackburn residents was held in Coalmont, which was repeated in 1981. In 1971, the school closed. In 1972, the general store operations relocated across Parrish Ave and became the Coalmont Emporium. In the 1980s, the remaining rooms of the hotel, which were on the second floor, were mothballed. In 1988, the post office closed. In 1990, the Coalmont Emporium closed. In summertime, recreational owners have substantially boosted the population.


Railway

The
Vancouver, Victoria and Eastern Railway The Vancouver, Victoria and Eastern Railway (VV&E) was a railway line proposed to connect Greater Vancouver, Metro Vancouver with the Kootenays, in Canada. After acquisition by the Great Northern Railway (U.S.), Great Northern Railway (GN), most ...
(VV&E) was a Great Northern Railway (GN) subsidiary. The northwestward advance of the VV&E rail head from Princeton reached Coalmont in early November 1911. In May 1912, GN began passenger services at Coalmont. The GN twice weekly schedule, which was unpredictable, was not listed on the timetables. The
Kettle Valley Railway The Kettle Valley Railway was a subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) that operated across southern British Columbia, west of Midway running to Rock Creek, then north to Myra Canyon, down to Penticton over to Princeton, Coalmont, B ...
(KV) was a
Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...
(CP) subsidiary. When scheduled CP service via Coalmont and
Spences Bridge Spences Bridge is a community in the Canadian province of British Columbia, situated north east of Lytton and south of Ashcroft. At Spences Bridge the Trans-Canada Highway crosses the Thompson River. In 1892, Spences Bridge's population inc ...
to the coast began in June 1915, GN handed over all general freight and passenger traffic northwest of Princeton to the KV. During the 1950s and 1960s, the location was mostly a log shipping point. In 1991, the remainder of the abandoned track southeast of Spences Bridges was lifted. The former railway right-of-way has been converted to the
Kettle Valley Rail Trail The Kettle Valley Rail Trail is a multi-use recreational rail trail located in the Okanagan- Boundary region of southern British Columbia. The trail uses a rail corridor that was originally built for the now-abandoned Kettle Valley Railway. Th ...
segment of the
Trans Canada Trail The Trans Canada Trail is a cross-Canada system of greenways, waterways, and roadways that stretches from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, Pacific to the Arctic Ocean, Arctic oceans. The trail extends over ; it is now the longe ...
. Following the 2021 Pacific Northwest floods, at least five washouts of the trail between Princeton and Tulameen require extensive reconstruction.


Later community

The practice by patrons of tacking spare
banknotes A banknote or bank notealso called a bill (North American English) or simply a noteis a type of paper money that is made and distributed ("issued") by a bank of issue, payable to the bearer on demand. Banknotes were originally issued by commer ...
onto the ceiling of the public bar at the historic Coalmont Hotel continued into the 2000s. The hotel celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2012. A stove chimney pipe fire in 2014 caused limited damage. In 2003, the Sternes converted the former CP pay office into a home and three-unit motel called the Mozey-On-Inn. The units were designated as the Bank, Saloon and Barbershop. In 2015, the only public phone booth was not replaced when deliberately rammed by a vehicle. No cell phone coverage exists. That year, the hotel closed permanently. In 2019, the Coalmont Station Park was created. In 2020, the novel "The Redemption of Hattie McBride" was published. McBride, a brothel keeper in Coalmont, was brutally murdered in 1920, but nobody was ever charged with the crime. In 2023, the Tulameen Fire Department completed building a firehall in Coalmont. The former original general store occupies the Parrish Ave/Front St corner. Across the street, the former Coalmont Emporium building still stood in 2012. All that now remains is the concrete island of the gas bar, which was out front. The community has no water mains or sewage pipes. The current passenger transit provider is BC Transit, which offers a request service. The Granite Creek cemetery, which overlooks the Granite Creek ghost town, is almost one kilometre southeast of Coalmont.


See also

*
List of ghost towns in British Columbia This is a list of ghost towns in the Canadian province of British Columbia, including those still partly inhabited or even overtaken by modern towns, as well as those completely abandoned or derelict. Region of location and associated events or en ...


Footnotes


References

* * * * {{Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen Unincorporated settlements in British Columbia Ghost towns in British Columbia Populated places in the Similkameen Canadian Pacific Railway stations in British Columbia